The teams
finished first or second in their pools at the end of the preliminary round at
the Palais des Sports in Antanarivo.

Ahly collected
their third victory in Pool D to finish as leaders of the pool, followed by FAP
who defeated VB Diamand of Madagascar. Ndejje University clinched a crucial
victory against Manga Sport (Gabon) in Pool C to finish second.

Other matches
saw third victories for GS Petroliers (Algeria) and Pipeline (Kenya) over
Prisons (Kenya) and Les AS (Burundi), respectively. MB Bejaia (Algeria) topped
Pool A following their win against APR (Rwanda).

At the end of
the preliminary round, Ahly and Pipeline were the only teams to win all their
matches without dropping a set.

Sunday is a
rest day for all the participating teams and the competition will resume with
the quarterfinal matches on Monday.

Pool A:

MB Bejaia (ALG) 3, APR (RWA) 0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-15)

MB Bejaia
overcame a sluggish start to defeat APR (Rwanda) in straight sets in 65
minutes. Bejaia started slowly, allowing the Rwandan team opportunities to
challenge them in the first set, but then Bejaia controlled the match in the
second and third sets.

In the
competition’s most exciting game, GS Petroliers beat Prisons in a match lasting
123 minutes. After dropping a thrilling first set, Prisons rebounded in the
second set to have a wide lead 8-3 and 16-11 at the TTOs before Zohra Bensalem
and Safia Boukhima brought GSP back to lead 24-22. Prisons responded with good
work from setter Jane Wacu to win the set 27-25. The fight became more
aggressive in the third set as the Algerians showed a highly disciplined
backline defence that prevail narrowly 25-23 to lead 2-1. Prisons fought hard
to win the fourth set 30-28 after efficient blocks from both teams. GSP
controlled the tiebreak thanks to Prisons’ mistakes to win 15-12.

Water Sport (ETH) 3, Kutlwano (BOT) 0 (25-11, 25-16,
25-22)

Water Sport
played their best to fly past Kutlwano. The Ethiopian team sent down some sharp
services that upset Kutlwano's reception and aided their attacks. Water Sports
finished the pool matches in third position with 1-2 record, leaving Kutlwano
at the bottom of the pool with 0-3.

Pool C:

Pipeline (KEN) 3, Les As (BUR) 0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-10)

Pipeline was
in total control during a one-sided match against Les As. The team from Burundi
was still feeling the effects of their 3-1 win against Manga Sport the day
before and couldn’t sustain their form. Pipeline had good performances from
their substitutes and after Les AS fought hard in the first set, were able to
fully control the match.

Ndejje University (UGA) 3, Manga Sport (GAB) 0 (27-25,
25-12, 25-14)

Ndejje
University (Uganda) qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time
following their straight sets victory against Manga Sport in 70 minutes. The
Ugandan team was more determined to win as they fought hard in defence and were
better in their attacks. They finished second in the pool with 2-1 record,
while Manga dropped to 0-3.

Pool D

Ahly (EGY) 3, AS Tanda (CIV) 0 (25-10, 25-11, 25-13)

Ahly completed
a clean sheet and hammered AS Tanda in the competition's shortest match, which
lasted just 50 minutes. Ahly started with substitute players who performed
well, especially Nahla Abdelkader and Nermeen Seifelnasr. In the second and
third sets, Ahly introduced more of their main players and used strong spike
services to upset their opponents’ tactics. Ahly finished the group stage at
the top of the pool with a 3-0 win-loss record, while Tanda dropped to 1-2 to
place third.

FAP (CMR) 3, VB Diamand (MAD) 1 (18-25, 25-13, 25-14,
25-20)

FAP came back
from a set down to pull off a 3-1 win against VB Diamand (Madagascar) in 90
minutes. The Cameroon team started poorly and lost the first set after a good
showing from the Madagascar team. FAP concentrated then found top gear to take
the next three sets. The victory improved FAP’s record to 2-1 to finish the
pool matches in second position, leaving Diamand at the bottom of the pool at
0-3.